Stanislaus Ivan (Stan) RAPOTEC (b.1913; d.1997)

Stan Rapotec was born in Trieste, Italy, October 4th 1913. In
1918, his family moved to Ljubljana, Slovenia, where the young man grew up surrounded
by the culture of drama and opera whilst completing his schooling. Rapotec went
on to study Economics at University, however he was also drawn to the Arts and
took up studies of the history of art. His involvement in student politics saw
him lead the student union movement, becoming Secretary-General of Interuniversity
Union of Yugoslav students. After completing University, Rapotec joined the
National Bank of Yugoslavia.

With the outbreak of World War 2 and the occupation of Yugoslavia,
Rapotec joined the underground organisation. Mobilised within a few weeks, he
saw action in the Middle East. The religious culture and history of Jerusalem
had a major impact on the young man straight out of University. Rapotec
remained in the Middle East for 7 years, absorbing and studying the history of
Cairo, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. As he was always on the move, his early
artistic pursuits consisted of small-scale paintings. He became fascinated with
Egyptian mythology and history, which remained a source of inspiration for his
works throughout his career.

Shunning formal art schools, Rapotec instead turned to his travels,
archaeology and history for inspiration. In 1948, on the advice of a friend and
the promise of greater opportunities, Rapotec moved to South Australia. He
resumed his economics studies, found work in a timber yard and began painting
again, holding his first exhibition in 1953 at the Art Society Gallery.

In 1955, Rapotec holidayed in Sydney before making it his permanent home
where he began developing his signature large, bold abstract expressions of myths,
rituals and architectural forms. Whilst drawing his early influences from the
European and American abstract impressionist movement, the artist also sought
to break away from the old established painting methods by introducing his own
unique style.

From the early 1950's, Rapotec held numerous Solo and Selected Group Exhibitions throughout Australia, London, Brazil, Rome, Paris, Austria, San Francisco and New York. In 1961 he married Andree Du Boise and won the Blake Prize and the Daily Mirror's Waratah Festival Prize.

In the early sixties, Rapotec moved to No 44 Victoria Street, eventually
sharing the house with fellow artists John Passmore, Bob Hughes, Leonard
Hessing and John Olsen. Rapotec persuaded Russell Drysdale to move into the district
and helped him secure a flat. Whilst Melbourne artists of the time rebelled
against the new arts revival movement in Victoria Street, Rapotec believed it
was an important era for art in Australia.

In 1965 Rapotec returned from a visit to England and Scotland, where his
paintings were based on cathedrals. He stopped in Greece and the Middle East to
revisit his favourite places. The artist fulfilled one of his greatest desires
by visiting Mount Olympus, a trip that inspired Poseidon, a work dedicated to Greek mythology.

Along with numerous contemporary artists of the time, Rapotec
encountered initial resistance from bishops at Sydney University who questioned
the suitability of abstract paintings in churches. Twelve years later, Pope Paul VI attempted to bridge the divide between
the church religion and art by asking for a collection of paintings with themes
addressing the issues of religion. The Pope donated a Vatican apartment as the
gallery, collecting a number of paintings during the last ten years of his
pontificate. In June 1973, Rapotec joined his contemporary artists in the Sistine
Chapel to witness the official opening of the gallery by The Pope. Rapotec’s Corpus
Christi in Seville hangs in the Vatican.

Fascinated with exploring the country and people of Australia, Rapotec
travelled extensively across South Australia, north up to Flinders Ranges,
outback New South Wales and Queensland. He produced a series of pictures on his
outback experiences.

Rapotec painted directly on horizontal hardboard, without preliminary
drawings or sketches in order to maintain his interest and spontaneity. He
painted in bouts, drawing on his memory store of events and experiences. Before
embarking on a series of paintings, Rapotec devoted time to concentrating and
planning. He balanced his painting bouts with keeping his life in order,
minimising the interferences of everyday life in his mind. He began painting at
night to ensure spontaneity and lack of interruption. He believed that the
subconscious produces the best work. He painted quickly, usually completing a
work within 2 hours and never returned later to touch up the painting as he
believed this practice would ruin the work.

Rapotec turned from oils to acrylics in the fifties as the medium better
suited to his technique. His paintings relied on washes that were flooded onto
the board before he started painting. The flow of the paint was vital to
Rapotec, so he painted quickly. Using the same brush for each colour, the
artist created controlled yet spontaneous strokes of colour, a process that
fascinated him, with its resulting mixtures and tones.

On 26th January 1989, Rapotec became a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the arts. In February 1995, Rapotec suffered a debilitating stroke. "To become an artist, you must have a life rich with experience, a strong desire to express yourself, a will strong enough to carry out this desire, and . . . talent," he once said.

Stanislaus Rapotec died in Sydney in 1997, aged 83.

The Australian National Gallery carries three of Rapotec’s major works. The
awesome Yorkminster and Experience in the far west, both of which were selected by Sir Russell
Drysdale and Poseidon. Yorkminster hung in the Australian Embassy in Moscow for many
years, generating a great deal of interest amongst Russian artists. Rapotec’s work is represented in Selected Collections including the Australian
Embassy, Paris, Vatican Gallery of Modern Religious Art, Musée d'Art Moderne,
Paris, Blake Dawson Waldron, National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New
South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Queensland
Art Gallery, numerous Regional Galleries & Tertiary collections and Corporate
& Private Collections in Australia & oversea.